Be My Guest – Anjeer Ki Kheer/ Fig Rice Pudding

The holy month of Ramadan has dawned, Alhamdulillah… Today is Sha’aban 30 in this part of the world and Ramadan will be from tomorrow, InShaAllah… It feels like yesterday that the last Ramadan had passed. Last year, in the month of July, through my posts, I had tried to capture the essence of the month in the way I could. Would continue that effort this month as well, InShaAllah, even though I am aiming at not doing much of blog posts, as it puts a strain on time! It all depends upon how much I would be able to manage my time effectively…

I am so excited that I have a very talented Muslim blogger as the guest today. The time I was jotting down the dates for the guest posts, I suddenly noticed today’s date and the name that popped up was hers. She is a blogger, who started a year ago, but her growth has been phenomenal, thanks to her really awesome photography. Each and every recipe of her is a tale of photographs itself, that I cannot but gawk at how she manages such perfection in each and every shot! I was a bit hesitant to write to her for a guest post, but a shot I did give and ain’t I glad? She is here to grace this little space of mine with her mind-blowing food pictures…

Oops… I didn’t introduce her, right? Let me welcome my dearest Farrukh Shadab, who blogs at Cubes N Julliens. Of late, her Saffron Mango Burfi has been driving me crazy. Not to speak of her French Croissant post that I have bookmarked to try when I have all the time in the world, as whoever have tried it have given rave reviews about it. JazakAllah Khairan Farrukh dear for accepting my humble invitation and coming over to be a part of my little space… I only pray that Allah gives you the drive to excel in whatever you do, InShaAllah… 🙂 Welcoming my guest over now…

Assalaam-o-alaikum. First of all I would like to thank Rafeeda for inviting me to do a guest post @sweettoothraf. I have met Rafeeda in a virtual world of a Facebook Food group and let me tell you I have seen her as a prodigious and consistent food blogger who likes to maintain a commendable balance between her job, her personal life and her blog. When I saw her invite, it didn’t take much time for me to decide and without a second thought I accepted it. I know her but haven’t met her, have seen her admirable posts, appreciate her hard work on her blog and the best part which I like the most is how she manages her time. Being a blogger, I know how much effort it is to manage a blog and that’s the reason I had a big “YES” to write a post for her. JazakAllahu Khair.

Myself, Farrukh, a homemaker and a mother of two beautiful children, Alhamdulillah! It is almost a year since I have started blogging. Cubes n Juliennes is my workplace where I collate and share my recipes along with its presentation and photography.

We all know that Ramadhan is the most auspicious and important month of the Islamic Calender. On a personal front as well, there are many memorable moments attached to this holy month. It goes to back in 2003-2004, before marriage when I was part of a women’s Islamic group. That was the spell when most of my time was spent in attending Quranic preachings. The day started early morning with “Daur e tafseer” (understanding Quran in detail)
and Hadiths which continued till Zuhr. A relax period in afternoon and then preparations of light snacks for Iftaar and closing the day with Tara’weeh in Isha by jamaat. During the 5 possible nights of “Lail-a-tul Qadr”, we used to gather in large group and pray together throughout the night. It’s the outcome of those learnings that I know the frequent references of the fruits like Anjeer(Fig), Zaitoon(Olive), Khajoor(Dates) and many more in the Quran. Allah(SWT)has bestowed on us a Surah-At-Teen (The Fig) which is evident enough to justify the importance and benefits of the fig.

As the blog of Rafeeda also pronounces itself as “Big SweetTooth” , I got the idea of making a sweet recipe out of a fig. I have named the dessert as “Anjeer ki Kheer” (Fig- Rice Pudding). The method is a simple process, the health benefits are numerous in number and a perfect divine taste. Here is how you can also make it….

Anjeer ki Kheer

INGREDIENTS:-

1 litre+ 1 cup, full cream milk

10-12 nos, figs, dried

6-8 cashew nuts

3 tbsp, rice

½ tsp cardamom powder

½ cup, sugar (you may increase or decrease as per preference)

A generous pinch of saffron +2tbsp warm milk

Few drops of rose essence

For Garnish:-

Slivered almonds and pistachios

Saffron

METHOD:-

Soak figs and cashew nuts in warm milk for 3-4 hours or till they are soft

Clean and wash the rice. Soak it for an hour. Drain the water and keep it aside

Blend together fig and cashew to a coarse paste.

Soak the saffron in warm milk and keep it aside

In a heavy bottom pan, heat 1 litre of milk. Once the milk starts to boil, add soaked rice and allow it to simmer till milk is reduced to half and rice is cooked well. Keep stirring at intervals.

To read more about the importance of fig in the Quran, I have found a couple of helpful links here and here.

I am so glad that Farrukh chose a fruit that is one of the fruits of Jannah and worked out her guest post around it. What a start to this Ramadan on the blogging front, I must say… BarakAllah Feek, it was indeed a pleasure having you around… 🙂

Hope all of you enjoyed this lovely guest post… have a great weekend ahead!